Changes
by Elraralia
Summary: [ONE-SHOT FIC] Cora thinks back on that happened, and all the changes she will have to face.


_I thought that I would write this because The Last of the Mohicans is such a great movie and it really stayed with me for a long time after watching it.  
This fic won't be very long, and it's from Cora's point of view, after everything that has happened._

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**Changes**

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Cora lay on the ground, looking up through the canopy of the trees to the stars above her. Nathaniel had told her that the dead were up there, one of those stars, looking down upon the world as people slept. She searched the skies, wondering which of them were her father, Alice, Duncan, and Uncas.

So many things had happened, so suddenly. Before all this her life was normal, perhaps even dull, and she had never considered change. Perhaps, in different circumstances, she might have even married Duncan. Despite his shortcomings, he _was_ a honourable man after all, and he would have been so good to her, and she would have been content. But that would be before all this had happened. In a few short days, everything had been turned around, everything had been changed.

She glanced at Nathaniel, fast asleep next to her, and her lips curved into a smile. She loved him, in a way which she had never thought possible. And for that, she was grateful for everything that had passed, or she would have spent her whole life in ordinary content, never knowing what it was that was missing in her life, never knowing how much a person could feel for another.

She sighed, and tears came to her eyes. Alice had learned that too, her sweet sister Alice, who was now up among the stars. She had been little more than a girl, and she had fallen, fallen hard for Uncas. Cora remembered the smile on Alice's face when she spoke to her sister about Uncas. Alice had never been that lovely before, radiant in her innocence and happiness, and Cora had felt happy for the girl. Uncas was a good man, speaking seldom, but kind of heart. Cora had never had any doubt that Uncas would take good care of Alice.

Little had she expected that Uncas would die trying to protect Alice. For once he had made a mistake. His love for Alice had clouded his judgement, and he had attempted to take on the Hurons alone, and Magua had overpowered him, wrenched his young life away from him.

Cora put her head in her hands as she recalled Alice's face, just before her dearest sister stepped off the cliff after her beloved. Then, she had seen the heartbreak in her sister's eyes, and at that moment she already knew that Alice was lost to her. There was absolutely no fear in her sister's eyes as she looked over the edge of the cliff, no fear in the eyes of timid Alice. And then she was gone, gone to be with Uncas forever in the stars.

Hot tears streamed down Cora's cheeks as she remembered. She had lost so much, yanked out of her life and thrown into something so foreign. She wiped the tears away and sat up as silently as she could. She had no wish to wake Nathaniel; he deserved to have a good sleep until it was his turn to keep watch. She looked around for Chingachgook, and saw him sitting on a rock a short distance away.

Gingerly, she stood up and crept towards him. Just as she was right behind him, he suddenly broke the silence. "Can't you sleep?"

Cora started, then sat down next to him. "No, I tried… but I kept remembering… everything…"

He nodded. "It's all right."

"Don't you get haunted by the images of the past?" Cora asked, curiously.

"Life goes on as ever before. Living and dying is part of the cycle," Chingachgook said calmly. "We can grieve, but that will not help the dead. I trust that my son is with our fathers, and soon I will see him again."

Cora was silent, marvelling at his composure. "I could never think of things that way."

"You are young. One day you will understand."

Cora looked up at the sky again. "I wonder where my father is."

"He is with his fathers, as Uncas is with ours. Your father was a good man, doing his best for his people and his family, and he will be welcomed by the dead. So don't you worry anymore, child."

Cora nodded. "That's good to know. Thank you." She got up and went to lie down next to Nathaniel again.

He stirred, and sat up. He looked down at her, and smiled. "Aren't you getting any sleep?"

She reached up and touched his face. "I was just speaking with your father. He has been a comfort to me."

He kissed her forehead. "Well, now you should get some sleep. We have a long way to go yet. I will relieve my father's watch now. Sleep well, Cora."

Cora nodded and closed her eyes, comforted. Sleep claimed her.


End file.
